Study title

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Postgraduate Transitions Survey, 2013-2014 was commissioned by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, supported by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and was conducted by NatCen Social Research (NatCen) in collaboration with the Institute for Employment Studies (IES). The study forms part of a wider on-going body of work undertaken by BIS and HEFCE focused on the postgraduate sector.

The main aims of the Postgraduate Transitions Survey were to:
• provide detailed information about students’ paths to postgraduate study;
• better understand the motivations and triggers that lead people to postgraduate education;
• provide comprehensive information on how students fund their postgraduate course; and
• understand the barriers and facilitators, and perceived value of postgraduate education.

The project as a whole utilised a mix of qualitative and quantitative elements and primary and secondary research. The survey formed the central phase of a multi-component research design, which also comprised: a review of relevant literature; secondary analysis of national student data; interviews with sector stakeholders; an online consultation of staff involved in recruiting postgraduates and in-depth telephone interviews with staff and students.

The survey was launched in early December 2013 and over 10,000 full responses were received from postgraduate students in English HE institutions by the end of the fieldwork period in late January 2015.


Main Topics:
Details of postgraduate study (subject, mode, institution tariff group); motivation for postgraduate study; future career plans; funding arrangements and financial circumstances; barriers to and facilitators of postgraduate study.